1. (a) Pursuant to Public Act 95-736, the General Assembly created the Task Force on Service Member and Veterans Education to examine the manner in which public colleges and universities in the State of Illinois provided education to servicemen and servicewomen as well as veterans of the armed forces of the United States.

   The Task Force conducted hearings and filed its findings with the General Assembly on September 16, 2008. Its report urges the General Assembly to recognize the sacrifice of American servicemen and women, and, in a small way, repay them by chartering a concerted effort by State government, in cooperation with our public institutions of higher learning, to make its best efforts to take positive, quantifiable steps to providing a superior learning environment for student veterans and service members. The Task Force reviewed the unique needs of veterans and military personnel, combined with the large number of active duty personnel and military veterans seeking higher education since the onset of the Global War on Terrorism. The Task Force found that public universities and community colleges in this State have varying levels of assistance available for active duty service personnel and veterans.

2. (b) The Task Force has reported that veterans and active duty personnel have difficulty in finding and receiving various State and federal education-related benefits and services that they may be eligible to receive, such as educational loans, scholarships, grants, local employment opportunities, access to medical care, a social network for support of student veterans, and groups to help with the transition to becoming a civilian after service in an active duty unit, because such programs are administered by different arms of the government.
3. (c) The Task Force found that the various public colleges and universities in this State have a wide array of programs and services available to veterans and active duty service personnel, ranging from online educational opportunities, admission and academic counseling, medical services, and family housing information.
4. (d) The Task Force also found that certain other higher education institutions across the United States have adopted programs and services that seek to better promote and coordinate the assistance that is available for veterans and active duty personnel.

(Source: P.A. 96-133, eff. 8-7-09.)